Saturday, May 31, 2014

BARU BIAN'S GAWAI MESSAGE

Each 1 June, we celebrate the great harvest festival
by thanking God who is the giver of all blessings for providing us with a good
padi harvest for yet another year. In the past we celebrated the spirit of the
gods in the community after the harvesting season. In the modern context, how
do we celebrate and for those of us who do not farm anymore, what do we
celebrate? Can it be the fruits of our hard labour, our share of the economic
pie? Many people are facing the challenge of making ends meet and many are living
hand to mouth. We have been told that the number of poor people registered in
Sarawak has increased this year, even as the new governor repeats his
delusional claim that by the end of next year, we will achieve the per capita
income that will put us in the category of a developed state. If the rich
continue to increase their wealth, it is possible that per capita income will
increase, but what is the point of being pushed into a better category if the
income gap is widening and the poor have little opportunities to climb out of
the poverty trap? We must put greater emphasis on having a more equitable
distribution of income rather than on the per capita income statistic.

Besides the economic challenge, we are witnessing
challenges to the racial harmony and religious freedom that we have enjoyed for
many decades. The political scenario is such that the majority of local leaders
do not have the moral courage to make clear stands on issues and incidences which
threaten the cohesiveness of our multiracial and multicultural society.
Incidences such as the storming of the Penang State Assembly and the
anti-Christian seminar at UiTM are the latest in a series of events which are
of serious concern to us in Sarawak who are anxious to prevent similar
incidences from happening here. Indeed, we have been told of an incident in
Balai Ringin which was alleged to have been an attempt at Islamisation of
schoolchildren by a religious NGO. Added to that, the decision in the Herald
case is beginning to affect us, contrary to the assurances given by those such
as Richard Riot and Joseph Kurup that it would not. My fears have been justified
as seen in the recent High Court case where the judge applied the ruling in the
Herald case to the SIB Church. This debacle is the result of political bias and
inconsistency, where leaders are more concerned about their political survival
than about speaking up for the rights of the minority groups.

Closer to home, the people of Sarawak woke up one
morning this week to discover that the former CM, whose name is tainted by
allegations of corruption and who has had numerous MACC reports lodged against
him, had been awarded a Tunship by the Agong. Questions arise as to the results
of the investigations carried out by the MACC and as to why the award was seemingly
kept under wraps until it was a fait accompli. Could it be to avoid the
embarrassment of protests against the award to a man whose immense wealth is
believed to be at the expense of the people of the state?

Many people are weary; Malaysia is no longer the safe,
secure and harmonious nation it once was, where we could bring up our children
with peace of mind and confidence that they would be given equal rights and
protection by the government of the day. The descendants of those immigrants
who toiled hard to contribute to the development of this nation are being
labeled ‘pendatang’ and rudely told to leave the country. Indeed, many are
wondering what the future holds for their children here. Our celebration of
Gawai would be more meaningful if we had courageous and righteous leaders who
are not afraid to right the wrongs and injustices that continue to be committed
daily, to give us the hope of better days ahead. This Gawai, I wish to call for
a new resolve by all Sarawakians and our leaders to be courageous in the face
of the many challenges faced by our communities and to speak up for our rights
with one voice.

Notwithstanding the rather somber foregoing
paragraphs, I firmly believe that our Sarawakian communities still enjoy a special
harmonious relationship with each other, each respecting the other’s cultural
and religious rights. Our ties and our spirit remain strong. I have just
returned from a victory Gawai celebration in Suai, where the villagers held a
thanksgiving ceremony for the successful claim of their native customary
rights. This Gawai, let us not forget our roots and our ties to the land. Like all
indigenous communities in the world, we value our relationship to the land and
the sea and the resources they provide. I wish to quote from an Alaskan Native,
Antionette Helmer who said ‘The land we hold in trust is our wealth. It is the
only wealth we could possibly pass on to our children… Without our homelands,
we become true paupers.’

Therefore, as we offer thanksgiving for our harvests,
let us also continue to protect our rights, be they rights to our land, or to
religious freedom, or to coexist in peace and harmony. Let us continue to speak
up for our brothers and sisters who find themselves in need of our support, as
we in Sarawak have been known to do. For as Pastor Martin Niemöller who lived during the
cruel regime of Nazi Germany, famously said:

“First they
came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a
communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because
I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not
speak out— because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and
I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me— and there
was no one left to speak out for me.”

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PKR will bring the change that Sarawak desperately needs. We will return the trees, the lands and the rivers to the people. Corruption will stop. Taib will continue to hand over the State's wealth and resources to Putrajaya and the preferred elite. PKR, led by Baru Bian in Sarawak, will not steal. Thirty years is enough! The time is now! BERUBAHLAH!